YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Your Mama is in a New York City state of mind today so let's discuss the SoHo condominium that all the Manhattan real estate gossips are whispering was recently purchased by Oscar nominated actor Samuel L. Jackson (Snakes on a Plane, Star Wars, The Incredibles, Kill Bill, Do the Right Think, Mo' Better Blues, Jungle Fever, Pulp Fiction).

Now listen chickens, although Your Mama hears through the real estate gossip grapevine that the costly condo is being purchased by Mister Jackson for his adult daughter Zoe, keep in mind that property records for the 2,578 square foot condo at the Crosby Street building dubbed The Bayard do not yet reflect a property transfer so all this chatter about Mister Jackson being the new owner ain't nuthin' but rumor and gossip at this point. Just rumor and gossip, alright?

Anyhoo, it was in theNew York Post (via CityFile) that Your Mama first read about the Kangol cap wearing thespian allegedly scooping up a 2 bedroom and 2 pooper condo in SoHo that was last listed with an asking price of $4,350,000. The Post reported that Mister Jackson snagged the condo at somewhere in the neighborhood of $4,100,000. A few flicks of the well worn beads of Your Mama's bejeweled abacus reveals that comes out to a dramatic $1,687 per square foot. The light and bright loft-condo carries monthly maintenance and taxes that, according to listing information, total $3,554. The high asking price and steep monthlies are a result of the itty-bitty five unit pre-war building having a few dee-luxe amenities–such as a doorman–that few buildings of this size have.

Listing information indicates the condo features a 13-ish foot ceiling, three 8-foot tall windows in the living room and another in the master bedroom, three exposed columns, a 33-foot long living/dining room and one of those new-fangled (gas) fireplaces that features a 15-foot wide firebox and a not so big television recessed into the wall above it. A key-lock elevator opens directly into the apartment which currently has chestnut colored wood floors and gallery white walls.

The generously sized gore-may kitchen, tucked into the north west corner of the condo, includes gleaming white, flat-fronted cabinetry with towel bar pulls, concrete colored counter tops, the kind of stainless steel appliances that combined cost as much as a small Mercedes and a heavyset work island that includes a breakfast counter where several sassy stools upholstered in ice blue with wacky cushion-tube-things for back rests facilitate conversing and imbibing with the cook.

A small–quite small, really–second bedroom has sliding panels that open the room to the living/dining room and the master bedroom, entered through double doors, has walk-in closet the size of many Manhattan bedrooms and an unusually configured and unfortunately windowless pooper which is currently being positively punished with a beige tumbled stone tile floor and an unholy combination of blood red, mirrored walls and a pair of far too country-style medicine chests above twin pedestal sinks.

The itty-bitty five-unit building is a bit of a celebrity magnet. It just so happens that the condo allegedly being bought by Mister Jackson occupies the same floor as that of Gawker founder and new media mogul Nick Denton. Miramax mogul Harvey Weinstein owned the full floor loft directly upstairs which he sold in December of 2007 for $8,000,000. The penthouse has also seen it's fair share of famous residents. Once owned by tennis ace Boris Becker and leased by porcelain skinned actress Nicole Kidman Cruise Urban after she busted up with rock star Lenny Kravitz and had to move out of his Crosby Street white elephant, the 9,865 square foot penthouse is now owned and occupied by sinewy talk show queen Kelly Ripa and her rather hunky huzband Mark Consuelos who spent a spine tingling $9,500,000 on the place in June of 2005. This was six months before they sold their fifth floor loft in the same building for $7,250,000 to former Goldman Sachs honcho Michael Rubinoff who flipped the beehawtcha 10 months later at a stomach churning $550,000 loss. For what it's worth, the buyer subsequently sold the 5,262 square foot fifth floor unit 18 months later to another filthy rich financier at a $2,000,000 profit. So goes the ever-spinning wheels of New York City real estate.

As far as Your Mama knows, Mister Jackson and his long time ladee-wife Latanya live in an 11,738 square foot mansion in the gated and guarded Beverly Park community in the Hills above Beverly that records show they bought from loud-mouthed comedienne Roseanne Barr in June of 2000 for $7,500,000.

The second bedroom is small only relative to the rest of the place. It's actually fairly typical for a NYC apartment (indeed, bigger than many such bedrooms). In any case, it'll probably be used as study/library/office-type space.

More info. When Boris Becker owned the sixth floor, he also owned half the fifth floor, the long outside half with the windows.

When Ripa et al bought the FOURTH floor, they also bought the inside of the remaining fifth floor. Their master bedroom was on the front of the fifth with the three tall windows, they had a huge walk in closet, and the back was left unfinished.

Ripa first bought in 2002, paying less than 3 million for one and a half floors. When they bought the sixth floor, and the windowed outside of the fifth, I understood they paid 8 mil although it was listed at 9.5 mil. Then they moved out for two years while the two top floors were combined. They also own 3000 sq ft of outside space, 200 sq ft on the sixth floor, and the rest on the roof.

As I understand it, Nick Denton at one time owned all of the third floor, as well as the front half of the second floor. His blog empire was run out of the condo. When it was moved to Spring Street, he sold the third floor for a HUGE profit, and kept the front of the second floor as his home.

The back of the second floor was first owned by a hairdresser, who had a studio in the apartment, where the second bedroom and bath are now located.

But my question is, how does Nick Denton GET TO his front apartment on the second floor. This FP shows the elevator contained in the back apartment. When Denton owned the third floor, I understood he had a staircase down to the second floor. Does anyone know how he egresses his apartment? The first floor and basement are occupied by a MOMA gift shop.

Village; That was an impressive exposition.........it is always great when commenters flesh out the bones of Mama's Posts.......like a back-up singer..Could you please leave another comment and tell us where Hoffa and Bin Laden are?

Alexis Stewart just moved into her new place in the last couple of weeks. I went into a bunch of detail (nothing that isn't already in the public domain) in an earlier comment, but for some strange reason Mama chose not to approve it. . .

Village, thanks for the informative comments, appreciated. I saw this place last week after it was in the post, Streetmapped it, and tho the MOMA store is on the 1st floor, it looks like there's some sort of common lobby.

Question about keyed elevators: can you buzz your friends up? Does the elevator go to the apartment and not open with a key, or will an elevator not go to the floor without one? Curious how that works.

I actually don't like the idea, I always imagine some malfunction and the door operning during my soiree like it's the lingerie floor at Bloomie's. Vestibules, please!